1956 Ferrari 250 Europa GT

Ferrari is well known for making some of the world's most beautiful cars. But, to me, its most gorgeous cars are those that don't fit the popular image of a Ferrari, that of a curvy red sports car.

As with most Ferraris that aren't purely racers, the body for this car was designed by the Italian auto design shop Carrozzeria Pinin Farina. Adding to its value, this particular Europa GT was the last one built.

It's among the hundreds of cars up for auction this week at some high-end collector car auctions in California. They're clustered around the annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, one of the most prestigious collector car shows in the world so, not surprisingly, the cars on sale are an interesting bunch. These are a dozen of my personal favorites.